How to take commercial portrait photos - How to take portrait photography?

How to take corporate business portrait photos?

The company portrait is a semi-close-up photo. This portrait is usually taken in a business style in a work environment.

The reason why business photos require business portraits is mainly for use in resumes or portfolios, and in different company documents, such as information ballots and press releases. The photos are also used on the company website. Some organizations use employee likenesses in marketing and advertising campaigns, especially when they want to attract customers or encourage potential partners to join them.

Corporate portraits are not like fashion photography or wedding photos. They are simpler and more formal. So how do you shoot?

Shoot indoors with natural light

If you are a beginner, shooting indoors with natural light is your best option until you become familiar with the light. Make sure the sun's rays fall on the subject at an angle that favors their appearance. Usually the light from the window is at a 45 degree angle to the face.

Once you find the right subject, you can start choosing the right location for your photo. Posture may vary based on gender, height, weight, stature, and other physical characteristics. Feel free to practice until you find the best one.

If the sun is too strong, you may want to bring a reflector to diffuse the light from the window. You can use a white reflector.

If you don’t have anything to eliminate the light, you can gradually move the subject away from the window. This way the light will be softened until you get good enough light and character.

Indoor photography without natural light

Often, photographers are asked to take photos in a room with no windows and poor lighting. These conditions required quick installation of studio equipment that could provide simple but effective lighting.

First of all, we need to find a blank wall as the background. You may need a portable background wall, which will require some installation equipment, such as a door, and some clamps to fix the paper background.

When you adjust the light source, please note that at least one key light source and diffuser are required. Set the source about 45 degrees from the target, then find a perfect angle to position the object and light as if it were coming from a window.

Remember, the first portrait is usually the most experimental. Once you find the right location and angle, working with other subjects will speed up.

If you have a second light source, you can set it up as a background light behind the subject to separate the person from the background, or set it up as a fill light mounted on the side opposite the original light source. . The fill light should be softer, it just helps fill in the shadows. The ideal lighting setup includes all three light sources, but it's entirely possible to work with one or two.

Corporate Outdoor Portraits

Now let’s talk about taking company photos on the street. Just like when shooting outdoors, it's important to consider the time of day and weather when shooting corporate photo portraits, rather than dance or dramatic scenes. One should look professional: from dress, makeup to posture.

What cameras and lenses do we use

The camera here does not have a huge impact on most photography processes, it is all about the lens. Just make sure you're using a camera that can take photos with your settings without using additional settings. If you're shooting in a room with no windows, this means the camera has to cope well with low light. Lighting techniques for commercial studio portrait photography

Introduction:

Lighting is widely used in studio portrait photography. This is because the background and environment in the studio are virtual, and the characters are also moving in the virtual scene, so the lighting of the characters must be designed strictly according to the virtual background environment light. Below is the relevant information I have compiled for your reference!

Lighting methods for studio portrait photography

Rembrandtlighting

The name comes from Because this is the lighting technique commonly used by the painter Rembrandt in paintings, the triangular light position on the face is the mark.

Unlike ring lighting, the shadows of the nose and cheeks are connected, but more importantly, the eyes on the shadow side still have eye light to maintain a bright and energetic look, and the photo also has a sense of drama.

When shooting, the subject should be slightly turned away from the light source. Of course, the light source should be positioned higher than the head so that the projection of the nose is connected to the projection of the cheek. However, not everyone is suitable for this lighting. People with larger cheekbones will be more ideal, while people with nose bridges that are not high enough will find it more difficult to light. Therefore, good lighting should be changed according to the specific subject and cannot be generalized.

Paramount Lighting

Paramount Lighting is also called Butterfly Lighting. The name of this light comes from the butterfly made under the nose. Symmetrical shadow.

The light source is set to the top light behind the camera, which will create shadows on the cheeks and chin, thus highlighting the cheekbones and making the face look thinner and the chin more pointed. Increase the object's attractiveness. However, reflectors are sometimes used for fill light.

BroadLighting

This is not a specific lighting setting, but a style that can be used regardless of split or ring lighting.

The method is actually very simple, that is, turn the side that receives the light toward the camera, so that the side that receives the light will look wider, and the entire face will look larger and wider, which is suitable for people with thin faces.

ShortLighting

It is the opposite of widening light. The darker side faces the camera, so that the face looks like it is sharpened and more three-dimensional. and atmosphere.

The lighting method is the same as the wide light, but in the opposite direction.

SplitLighting

As the name suggests, it is to divide the face into two, one side is light and the other side is dark, which will create a stronger sense of drama, suitable for personality or People with strong temperament, such as artists, musicians, etc., will of course be more masculine.

To create this effect, place the light source at 90 degrees to the left or right of the object. You can move it slightly forward or backward to accommodate different surface shapes. Note that the lighting must follow the subject's face. When the head turns, the lighting should also follow.

Loop Lighting

This method can make the nose cast some shadows on the cheeks. To achieve this effect, the light source should be slightly higher than the plane of the eyes and camera. 30-40 degrees. (Depending on the specific face shape)

Types of light sources for portrait photography

Backlight

Backlight refers to the light coming from behind the subject towards the camera. In a backlit environment, since the side of the subject facing us is almost backlit, it is easy to create a contrast between the light source area and the backlit area. However, in general, subjects under backlight are prone to underexposure. If we want to express the color and other details of the subject's surface, we should avoid shooting with backlight.

To take wonderful photos in a backlit environment, we can use the camera to meter the bright areas of the picture to darken the brightness of the subject and obtain the effect of the silhouette of the subject. Although the silhouette effect cannot reflect the color and other characteristics of the subject, it is also very artistic. The silhouette effect formed under backlight can fully reflect the morphological contour characteristics of the subject in the picture. In addition, when shooting portraits of beautiful women, you can use reflectors or lamps to fill in the face of the person to get a warm and fresh backlight effect.

Side light

Side light refers to the light coming from the left or right side of the subject, and the direction of the light is at an angle of about 90° to the shooting direction of the camera.

Using side-light shooting can produce a sharp contrast between light and dark on the subject, and the light-receiving surface of the subject will be displayed very clearly, and the backlight surface will appear in the picture in the form of a shadow, making the subject more vivid. The picture is very textured. Therefore, side light is often used to express images with clear layers and a strong three-dimensional effect.

Front side light

Front side light is also called 45° side light. It refers to the light from the left or right side of the subject, and the direction of the light is consistent with the shooting direction of the camera. The direction forms a 45° horizontal angle.

Using front side lighting to shoot, the side of the scene facing the lens can receive a large area of ??light, while the local backlight surface will produce a shadow effect. This effect is more in line with the visual habits in our daily life. The light-receiving surface of the scene It can show detailed features such as color, shape, etc., and the backlight surface can produce a light and dark contrast with the light-receiving surface, thereby increasing the spatial three-dimensional effect of the picture and making the picture less dull. When shooting architecture, portraits, and flowers, we often use this 45° side light.

Side backlight

Side backlight is similar to backlight in that it is the light coming from the back of the subject to our lens. However, side backlight is formed by the shooting direction of our camera. The angle is 120° to 150°, and the backlight is facing the lens. This subtle adjustment in the shooting angle will make the resulting picture effect different.

When shooting with side backlighting, the light-receiving surface of the subject will only occupy a small part, and the backlight surface will occupy the majority. This can make the outline of the subject well presented in the picture. At the same time, since the subject has a small part of the light-receiving surface, the contrast between light and dark in the picture will not be as strong as in the backlit silhouette, and the bright area can still show some colors and other characteristics of the subject.

Top light

Top light refers to the light that shines from the top of the subject to the subject, maintaining a vertical angle of about 90° with our camera.

When we usually shoot, the use of top light is less than the use of side light, downlight and other light positions, because this kind of light will only be used when shooting people or some architectural themes. It shows the top features of the subject, while other areas appear in shadow, so we use this kind of light less often. Usually, top light is used when shooting still life subjects, etc., when it is necessary to show the details on the top of the subject.

In nature, the most common top light is the midday sun rays. At this time, the sun's rays are also the strongest. If you take a portrait at this time, in order to prevent the character's face from being exposed to the light, we can make the character raise his head to ensure that the details of the character's face are reflected.

Footlight

Footlight can also be called bottom light, which refers to the light shining on the subject from below. In fact, under normal circumstances, we rarely have the opportunity to see the effect of footlight, because footlight is not as common as forward light, side light, backlight and other lights. Footlights appear more often in stage plays, dramatic lighting, or in the lighting of parties and concerts. Floor lamps and low-angle reflectors in squares also have the properties of footlights.

Footlight is not our common light environment. The visual effect of footlight will subconsciously give people a mysterious, eerie and weird feeling.

Partial light

Partial light means that only a certain area of ??the subject is illuminated by light, while other areas are in shadow.

The picture using partial light is very artistic, but compared with other light environments, partial light is less common. Usually, the partial light that appears in nature is fleeting. If you encounter the partial light scene you are looking forward to, you must seize the time to shoot it. For example, when the sun's rays pass through unevenly thick clouds, partial light may be produced; partial light may also be encountered before and after thunderstorms; when the sun is about to set, partial light may occasionally occur.

Partial light is also called "stage light" by us. It is like a follow light on the stage and only illuminates the subject. When we look at a work, the brightest area is always the most eye-catching. This is a visual habit of people. We use partial light to shoot. Partial light can illuminate the scenery we want to express in the picture, so that people's eyes are all focused on the local light area of ??the picture. This is very conducive to the expression of the theme of the work.

Front light

Front light refers to the light whose projection direction is consistent with the shooting direction.

In such a lighting environment, the side of the subject facing the lens is illuminated, and no shadows are produced on the light-receiving surface. Details such as the color and shape of the subject can be well represented.

It should be noted that shooting with smooth light will cause the subject to have no obvious changes in light and dark, thus lacking a sense of layering and three-dimensionality, making the picture appear slightly flat. If we want to avoid this blandness, we can choose colorful things as the subject of the picture, and use smooth light to fully display the color of the subject in the picture to increase the attractiveness of the picture; we can also choose pictures with greater color contrast, Use the contrast between colors to make the picture more exciting; you can also arrange some foregrounds for the picture to increase the sense of space in the picture.

Scattered light

We have already learned what direct light is. In nature, the light directly illuminated by the sun when it is clear and cloudless is direct light, and when it appears in the sky Some clouds block the sunlight, causing the sunlight to scatter when it passes through the clouds. The light that shines on the object at this time is scattered light. Typical scattered light includes not only the sky light when it is cloudy, but also the light emitted by lamps with soft glass in our homes, or the light reflected from water, ground, glass, etc.

Direct light

We all know that all light emitted by point light sources propagates along straight lines. When light shines on the subject along straight lines, it is direct light. When it is illuminated by direct light, The main body can produce obvious projection and strong contrast between light and dark in the picture. The color and shape of the main body and other detailed features can be well reflected, and the picture can also show a sense of spatial hierarchy.

In nature, on a cloudless day, when the sun shines directly on the subject, we call this light direct light. The side of the scene that is illuminated by the sun will appear in bright tones, while the side that is not illuminated by the sun will appear in shadows. We can control the ratio of this light and dark area by changing the shooting position. How to take portrait photography?

Portrait photography is a photographic art that specializes in photographing human figures. The following are some shooting tips for portrait photography:

Choose a suitable scene: Choose a scene suitable for portrait photography, such as A beautiful landscape, interesting architecture, or a solid color background.

Use appropriate light: Light is a very important factor in portrait photography. You can use natural light or lights for shooting.

Choose the right lens: Choosing the right lens can help you capture more detail and depth, such as a portrait lens or a prime lens.

Make sure the focus is accurate: Portrait photography needs to focus on the model's eyes to ensure the clarity and focus of the photo.

Give models guidance: For non-professional models, you can give them some simple guidance, such as standing at an angle or adjusting their posture.

Control exposure: Appropriate control of exposure can make the photo brighter or darker, making it more suitable for the scene.

Post-processing: Use post-processing software to modify photos, such as adjusting color, clarity, saturation, etc.

In short, portrait photography requires attention to detail and careful consideration of the scene, light, lens, focus and post-processing.